Press Release: Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping today announced its Board of Directors.
The first task of the Board is to set the long-term strategic direction for the Center and define its overall framework across activities, projects and organization with the aim to facilitate the transition to a carbon free global shipping industry.
The inauguration of the Board marks the finalization of the legal registration of the Center as an independent, not-for-profit organization. With the headquarter location also in place in Copenhagen, Denmark, and a newly obtained status as an independent legal entity the Center is now officially operational.
Chairman of the Board Søren Skou, welcomes the new Board members: “To realize our long-term ambition to decarbonize global shipping, a wide range of industry stakeholders must come together to collaborate. Our board members hold profiles with excellent capabilities and profound understanding across this diverse landscape. As an independent organization we are well positioned to take up the challenge of facilitating this vital shift for global trade and in welcoming my fellow board members, I am pleased that we can now initiate our work for this ambitious initiative.”
The Board of Directors include:
- Søren Skou, CEO at A.P. Moller – Maersk (Chairman) Prior to his current role, Mr. Skou was CEO of Maersk Line and has been a member of the Executive Board since 2007. Mr. Skou joined Maersk in 1983.
- Connie Hedegaard (Vice Chairman), former Minister of Environment to Denmark and European Commissioner for Climate Action; Mrs. Hedegaard holds a number of Board positions incl. Chair of the Board for the EU Commissions Mission Board on Adaptation to Climate Change, Chair of the Board for Denmark’s green think tank CONCITO, Chair of OECD’s Round Table for Sustainable Development and Member of the Sustainability Council of Volkswagen
- Claus V. Hemmingsen, member of the boards in A.P Møller Foundation and Chairman of the Board of Directors in DFDS and The Drilling Company of 1972. Mr. Hemmingsen is also member of the Board of the Global Maritime Forum.
- Professor Asgeir J. Sørensen Norwegian University of Science and technology, key scientist and Director of the Centre for Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems (NTNU AMOS). Mr. Sørensen has co-founded several companies and also co-established the Marine Cybernetics Laboratory (MC-Lab) and the Applied Underwater Robotics Laboratory (AUR-Lab)at NTNU.
- Guy Platten, Secretary General of International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). Prior positions include Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Chamber of Shipping, Chief Executive of Caledonian Maritime Assets (CMAL) Ltd., Director of Marine Operations for the Northern Lighthouse Board. Mr. Platten is a master mariner.
The Center was announced in June 2020 by a group of leading global shipping entities committing themselves to decarbonization of the shipping industry. It was made possible by a DKK 400m donation by the A.P. Møller Foundation.
Shipping’s road map to decarbonization
Global shipping accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions, a share that is likely to increase as other industries tackle climate emissions in the coming decades.
Achieving the long-term target of decarbonization requires new fuel types and a systemic change within the industry. Shipping is a globally regulated industry, which provides an opportunity to secure broad-based industry adoption of new technology and fuels.
To accelerate the development of viable technologies a coordinated effort within applied research is needed across the entire supply chain. Industry leaders play a critical role in ensuring that laboratory research is successfully matured to scalable solutions matching the needs of industry. At the same time, new legislation will be required to enable the transition towards decarbonization.
Header image: Photo by Benjamin Child on Unsplash
